Today, internationally acclaimed saxophonist, poet, and songwriter Alabaster DePlume announces Prologue To A Blade—a series of creative statements setting the stage for a larger project arriving next year via International Anthem. The new EP features two tracks recorded in Palestine with local musicians, pianist Sami El Enani and Qanoun player Laith Albandak, and a third track inspired by the experience of living in solidarity with the people of Palestine. The EP is accompanied by news of DePlume’s debut poetry book and a tour of the US and Europe. This body of work lays the foundation for his evolving artistic journey, exploring the role of dignity in healing and its impact on community, society, and humanity.

Listen to the EP here.
Preorder the poetry book here.
Tickets for the tour go on sale this Friday, see info here.

The EP, titled Cremisan: Prologue To A Blade features three deeply personal and evocative new tracks, recorded in locations of profound importance. Each piece serves as a testament to the power of collaboration and the importance of place in shaping the artistic process.

The EP’s first two tracks, “Honeycomb” and “Cremisan,” were recorded in the experimental arts, music and architecture space The Wonder Cabinet in Bethlehem, Palestine, during DePlume’s ‘Sounds Of Places’ residency. The opening track, the wintry and elegiac “Honeycomb,” is a somber duet recorded with pianist Sami El Enani.

“Cremisan” — recorded in the final moments of a day-long non-stop performance put on by Radio alHara and Wonder Cabinet on June 1, 2024, that featured a robust array of local artists and musicians — finds DePlume’s wavering saxophone leads playing against featured artist Laith Albandak’s steadfast Qanoun in a call and response that gestures at both grief and resilience. The team planned and delivered this event as “a cry from the Cremisan Valley (Bethlehem, Palestine) to Rafah (Gaza),” and what you hear is its conclusion.

The EP concludes with “Gifts Of Olive,” a solemn melody that references Refaat Alareer’s poem “If I Must Die.”

DePlume shares: “To set you up for what’s coming I’ve layered up these compositions in private, and with friends. It’s a prologue to what we’re bringing next. It ushers it in. I went towards things I feared, to be in the places where this music has come from. Places in the world and in myself, where dignity and sovereignty has its role in the work of healing.”

Accompanying the release of the EP is DePlume’s first poetry collection, Looking For My Value: Prologue To A Blade, which offers readers a deeper exploration of the themes of dignity, sovereignty, and the work of healing that are present in his music. Arriving as a limited gatefold custom A6 pocket book featuring cover art by British illustrator Ian Wright and design by London-based Jamie Coull, this collection features raw and vulnerable prose that reflects DePlume’s journey toward finding and taking responsibility for his own value as a human being.

The meaning of this work will be further explored during Alabaster’s upcoming 2025 tour, A Blade Because…, with headline shows across the US, UK, and EU. Tickets for the tour go on sale this Friday, see all dates below and find more info here.